Thursday, December 21, 2006

Hey, I'm actually getting this one up on a timely basis. Gotta be at work early tomorrow, so any errors, corrections, improvements, etc. not likely until Thursday afternoon or evening.

LINE

DOWN

DIST

FORM

TYPE

YARDS

PLAYER

BRIEF

T41

1

10

Standard 2-TE

Run

2

Henry

Left Tackle

Titans start out with 2 TEs-Hartsock and Wallace, just elevated to the practice squad. Everybody who predicted before Week 1 the Week 15 starting TEs would be those two, stand up. Sit down, you liars. McCray and Henderson do a good job of holding their own on this play, and Griesen is able to beat Wallace's block to make the tackle.

T43

2

8

?

Run

4

Henry

Iso

Henry is already getting the handoff by the time CBS finishes introducing the Jags D. Tough running for Henry up the middle.

T47

3

4

I-Formation, 3-WR, Slot Right

Run

1

Henry

Iso

HB run up the middle is kind of an odd call for 3&4, particularly against a rush D as generally stout as the Jags. Ingram attacks where the hole could be, and they clog it up and stop Henry short of the first down.

Drive Notes: I'm not trying to give the Jags D a lot of love, but they came out looking strong against the Titans the first drive. I would have liked to see a pass somewhere on this drive to help set up the run.

LINE

DOWN

DIST

FORM

TYPE

YARDS

PLAYER

BRIEF

T22

1

10

I-Formation, 3-WR, Slot Left

Run

5

Henry

Off Tackle

Odd formation, with Hartsock lined up slot left. Hall doesn't get a very good block on Griesen(?), but Henry avoids him anyway and gets a nice gain on first down. Little screen to Henry.

T27

2

5

3-WR, Slot Weak

Pass

2

Henry

Screen

JAX only rushes 4, so not many guys get sucked upfield. Smith does a good job of seeing the play and avoiding Bell's block. (CA)

T27

3

3

3-WR, Slot Weak

Pass

Inc

Bennett

Slant Out

Williams has a grab on Bennett, which is legal within 5 yards, but becomes illegal when he doesn't let go when VY releases the ball. Williams is then able to get inside positioning and knock the ball away. (CA)

Drive Notes: Third down would have been a great time for a screen, as JAX showed blitz with all 3 LBs, though only 1 of them ended up coming. Quick hitter to a speed back out of the backfield would have been great as well. Yes, I'm trying to avoid concentrating on a missed official's call ending a drive.

LINE

DOWN

DIST

FORM

TYPE

YARDS

PLAYER

BRIEF

T30

1

10

3-WR, Slot Weak

Pass

22

Wade

In

Good route against the zone. Wade runs an 18 yard in, over the LBs and in front of the deep cover guys. (CA)

J48

1

10

2-TE Strong, 2-WR Weak

Pass

6

Wallace

Waggle

More waggle action. Wallace is the bootleg blocker/receiving outlet. VY dumps it off to him and gets a decent little gain. (CA)

J42

2

4

3-WR, Slot Weak

Run

2

Henry

Iso

Pacman in as the slot guy, Jags don't pay much attention to him. Steve Tasker without the brilliant "Don't think that went unnoticed" after it, well, did, by the ex-Bills special team ace and PBP guy Gus Johnson. Similar to what TEN did before, running Henry. Except, y'know, if he's a decoy, try running to the other side?

J40

3

2

Strong I

Pass

Inc

Bennett

Deep Post

VY scrambles, finds Bennett a little late, and puts the ball too far from him near the goal-line. Griesen was in good position to prevent VY from scrambling for a first down. (IN)

J40

4

2

I-Formation, 2-TE Strong

Run

0

Henry

Iso

Play is designed to go right side, but Stroud lines up with a wide split, so Stewart blocks him. That means Hartsock has to block DE Spicer. Spicer beats him inside, destroying the lane and Hall's block. Henry tries to bounce outside, but Deon Grant does a good job in contain. Good run D all around. Henry's best play here actually would have been to go up the middle between Stroud and Henderson--not what you'd expect.

Drive Notes: A disappointing ending to a drive, with the VY overthrow and a failure to convert on 4&2. It was nice to see Fisher go for it, in a situation where the percentages are fairly close. Personally, I would have preferred a play where VY's mobility could have been put to use, maybe some more waggle action.

LINE

DOWN

DIST

FORM

TYPE

YARDS

PLAYER

BRIEF

T30

1

10

Weak I

Penalty

-5

Hartsock

False Start

T25

1

15

Weak I

Pass

Inc

Jones

Deep Post(?)

Scramble drill after Spicer(?) beats Stewart to the inside. Jones is open deep, but VY can only throw the ball 55 yards. If this is a good throw, this is a big TD, because Jones had Mathis beat deep. I have more sympathy for Jones' tendency to stop on VY's deep passes because of throws like this one. (IN)

T25

2

15

3-WR, Slot Weak

Pass

7

Wade

Slant

Kind of a weird play. Wade runs a sort of quick slant and sits down. VY is apparently looking somewhere else and scrambles before finding him for a decent gain. If VY was waiting for Wade, that was probably a bad play by him. (CA)

T32

3

8

Split Backs, 3-WR

Pass

Inc

Wade

Seam

There's a little opening to Wade down the seam, but VY's throw is a little high and behind him and leads Wade into Sensabaugh's hit. (IN)

Drive Notes: False start hurt the start of the drive, and VY just wasn't accurate enough on the other plays, particularly the long ball to Jones.

LINE

DOWN

DIST

FORM

TYPE

YARDS

PLAYER

BRIEF

T40

1

10

3-WR, Slot Weak

Pass

-3

Young

Sack

McCray and Meier stunted, and Bell wasn't able to stop McCray as he came inside. This flushed VY, and Meier released off Roos to get the sack from behind. This one is on Bell.

T37

2

13

Shotgun Base

Pass

19

Wade

Outs

Wade and Williams line up left, slot and outside. Williams runs a short out, Wade a deep out. VY makes a good throw to hit out. (CA)

J44

1

10

Shotgun 4-WR, 3 Right

Pass

14

Pacman

Out(?)

Pacman in the game at the near slot right. Jags blitz 6 against 6, VY scrambles outside and finds Pacman. Sensabaugh was on Pacman, but he'd gone deep on the scramble drill and left Pacman open a dozen yards downfield.

J30

1

10

Shotgun Base

Pass

-5

Young

Sack

McCray's having a good series. He gets by Roos, and whacks the ball away from VY from behind as he scrambles out of the pocket. You'd like to see VY has greater awareness of ball security than he shows here. Thankfully, Stewart is able to fall on the ball

J35

2

15

3-WR, Slot Weak

Pass

9

White

Checkdown

VY doesn't see anything he likes and dumps it down to White. Throw is a little high for how short it is, but still in the acceptable range. (CA)

J26

3

6

Shotgun Base

Pass

Inc

Bennett

Out

Just a short out, enough for the first down. But as Williams drives Bennett out of bounds, his helmet comes up and knocks the ball out of Bennett's hands. Called a catch on the field, but ruled incomplete on the replay review. Win some, lose some. In its universal nature, this is a catch. (CA)

Drive Notes: And Bironas misses the FG to add insult to injury, or something, so the Jags have a 10-7 halftime lead.

LINE

DOWN

DIST

FORM

TYPE

YARDS

PLAYER

BRIEF

J14

1

10

Trips Right

Pass

6

Williams

Curl

Trips right, and it's a throw back to Roydell, who was the sole man left. Decent short gain on first down. (CA)

J8

2

4

3-WR, Slot Strong

Run

-1

Henry

Off Tackle

Why do you give Travis Henry the ball like it's a run up the middle and have him try to sprint outside? I'm hoping somebody screwed up on this play, because Grant came up on outside contain and Henry couldn't find any running room inside.

J9

3

5

Strong I

Pass

Inc

Bennett

Out and Up

Kind of like a mini version of the out and up, crossed with a fade. There was a place this ball could have made it, but VY's throw is not merely not good, but bad, as in out of bounds. As a general rule, I HATE the fade route on 3rd/4th down, and this play is a good example why. (IN)

Drive Notes: Thank goodness for Pacman's great kickoff return. Another 3&out for TEN, but this one results in points because of the wonderful starting position. Oh, in case you haven't noticed, this was NOT VY's best game throwing the ball. After this drive, the Titans wouldn't have the ball for over 20 more minutes of gametime and nearly an hour of realtime, but would go from 10-10 with Bironas's FG here to 24-10 with the returns by Finnegan and Hope.

LINE

DOWN

DIST

FORM

TYPE

YARDS

PLAYER

BRIEF

T1

1

10

3-WR, Slot Weak

Run

1

Young

Sneak

Weird formation, with Wade lined up as a WR where a TE would line up. Uh, he's Bobby Wade, not a blocker. This is just to pick up a yard or 2 to get some room to operate after JAX failed on 4&G from the 1. Drives that start inside the 5 are more likely to produce a TD for the other team than for you, so anything you can get is almost a bonus. This, of course, is part of why teams maybe should go for it on 4&G more often, particularly when you're facing an offense as anemic as TEN's had been.

T2

2

9

I-Formation, Standard 2-TE

Run

16

Henry

Iso

Isn't it nice when plays just ... work? EXCELLENT blocking here at the point of attack, giving Henry 9 good yards before he faces a real potential tackler. Some hard running at the end picks up the 16. This was a HUGE run for getting the Titans out of the shadow of their goalline (y'know, chalk three feet high and whatnot).

T18

1

10

2-TE Strong

Run

3

Henry

Iso

Not much to say about this play, looks a little like a stretch that doesn't and ends up going at right tackle, where the 2-TE were.

T21

2

7

Standard 2-TE

Run

8

Young

QB Run

This may be a busted play, but I think it's a designed run to the bootleg side. Not enough boot action to be a real waggle, VY makes Grant miss and has an easy run for a first down. This is VY as RB.

T29

1

10

I-Formation

Run

2

Henry

Iso

Generic run up the middle. This sort of play wears on me a little-it's tough to say something rewarding and unique about it, and it's not worth it to review who was blocking everybody on a 2 yard gain. If I were an assistant coach, well, different story. But, I'm not.

T31

2

8

3-WR, Slot Strong

Run

1

Henry

Iso

See above re generic middle run. Formation was interesting, as the 2-WR out right were both split way out. Not sure what that's supposed to be.

T32

3

7

I-Formation, 3-WR

Pass

-20(!)

Young

Sack

Jags have pressure up the middle, so VY scrambles outside. Where there's contain, so he scrambles back towards the middle, only further back. Keeps retreating, retreating, and eventually eats the ball for a big loss. 20-20 hindsight, he should have simply thrown the ball away or gotten what he could when he first moved outside. This is a rookie (or Aaron Brooks) mistake.

Drive Notes: Despite the lackluster ending, this was a pretty good drive. The Titans pick up only 11 net yards, but drove for 31 before the sack. More important in a 24-10 game, they took 3:02 off the clock and would have taken a lot more if the Jags hadn't used all their timeouts. It would have been nice to finish the game on this drive, but it was what it was.

LINE

DOWN

DIST

FORM

TYPE

YARDS

PLAYER

BRIEF

J42

1

10

I-Formation, Standard 2-TE

Run

2

Henry

Iso

Everybody who thought Jeff Fisher was going to come out pass here, you don't know how Fisher works.

J40

2

8

I-Formation, Standard 2-TE

Run

-4

Young

Bootleg

VY fakes the handoff and boots it, but Ingram stayed at home. VY manages to avoid a big loss, but still loses a few yards. At least he didn't try anything stupid.

J44

3

12

3-WR, Slot Strong

Pass(!)

Inc(!)

Jones

?

Unlike, well, this play. Listing Jones as the intended receiver here is, well, generous. There's very little nice to say about this play. Hartsock was failing to block McCray (Mario Williams notwithstanding, that shouldn't happen), and VY should have just eaten this ball and let Hentrich punt from midfield. He's fortunate he wasn't called for grounding as well. (IN, STUUUPID)

Drive Notes: NO, NO, NO, NO, NO. You don't throw the ball there. I've felt a little uncomfortable always singing the praises of VY, like I did in the Giants game breakdown. Well, he screwed up here.